So who will play Mohammed's nine year old wife? (Wizbang)

I'm just wondering:

Producer Barrie Osborne cast Keanu Reeves as the messiah in The Matrix and helped defeat the dark lord Sauron in his record-breaking Lord of the Rings trilogy. Now the Oscar-winning American film-maker is set to embark on his most perilous quest to date: making a big-screen biopic of the prophet Muhammad.
Budgeted at around $150m (£91.5m), the film will chart Muhammad's life and examine his teachings. Osborne told Reuters that he envisages it as "an international epic production aimed at bridging cultures. The film will educate people about the true meaning of Islam".

Osborne's production will reportedly feature English-speaking Muslim actors. It is backed by the Qatar-based production company Alnoor Holdings, who have installed the Muslim scholar Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi to oversee all aspects of the shoot. In accordance with Islamic law, the prophet will not actually be depicted on screen.

"The film will shed light on the Prophet's life since before his birth to his death," Ahmed Abdullah Al-Mustafa, Alnoor's chairman, told al-Jazeera. "It will highlight the humanity of Prophet Muhammad."

Hmm... will Osborne cover Mohammed/Muhammad's relationship with A'isha?

Numerous people have said that Mohammed had sex with his youngest wife, 'Aisha, daughter of Abu Bakr, when he was about 53 and she was only nine years old. Some Muslims deny that. If somebody were to claim Mohammed and 'Aisha had sex when she was nine, and they were wrong, that would be a serious slander against Mohammed. On the other hand, if it were true, that would show a very different side of Mohammed that would shock many. So is this accusation against Mohammed true or false?
This paper will first give the evidence for A'isha being nine when her marriage was consummated, then raise 11 objections to this, and finally, ask what if each view were correct.

This is important to a widely practiced but overlooked practice today: child brides in Muslim lands due to Mohammed's example.

In Iran as of June 2002 it is legal for a 9 year old girl to marry with her parents' permission. Voices Behind the Veil p.136-137

In the Ivory Coast this book also tells of a 12 year old girl who would leave the house for hours before returning home. After her father tied her up, burned her back with a piece of iron, locked her up for three days with no food, he eventually married her of to a 40-year old man. He never sent her to school because he said that it would drive them from their tradition, they would start asking questions, and not want to marry until they are 19 or 20.

The Taliban encouraged families to marry off their daughters as young as eight years old. (Voices Behind the Veil p.110)

The Dallas Morning News 9/28/03 p.1,10S had a story about the sad plight of Muslim Nigerian girls who were married very young, got pregnant and had labor before their small bodies were ready. It was actually somewhat of a gross story, basically of many girls who needed C-sections but did not get them. Many survived, but could not have any children due to their perforated uteruses.

To understand the authoritative nature of the example of Mohammed, we have to understand something of the Muslim hadiths. They hold a higher place in Sunni Islam than church tradition does in the Catholic and Orthodox churches. Sunni Muslims hold to six collections of hadiths as the most authoritative writings in Islam after the Qur'an. The rest of this paper shows that the accusation is completely true, according to numerous corroborating early Muslims sources.

So.. it would seem that Osborne's attempt to accurately portray Mohammed in this film might land him in jail for making child pornography.

I'm pretty sure he'll skip over this part of the prophet's life.

What say you?

Crossposted(*).

Comments (24)

No suggestion as to who sho... (Below threshold)

1. Posted by Geoffrey Britain | November 3, 2009 12:23 PM | Score: 8 (8 votes cast)

Geoffrey Britain:

No suggestion as to who should play the 9 yr old 'wife'. But the only suitable director would just have to be Polanski, right?

Posted on November 3, 2009 12:23

I had wondered if they were... (Below threshold)

2. Posted by JustRuss IT1(SW) USN [retired] | November 3, 2009 12:23 PM | Score: 3 (3 votes cast)

JustRuss IT1(SW) USN [retired]:

I had wondered if they were going to keep him offscreen, are they also going to subtitle only his dialouge or will there be a voice actor?

They MUST show the marriage to the 9 year old girl but they do not HAVE to show any sexual conotation to the marriage at that point. It might be disengenuous to the truth but they don't want to risk a jihad against Hollywood et all.

It will probably be shown t... (Below threshold)

3. Posted by serpent | November 3, 2009 12:25 PM | Score: 2 (2 votes cast)

serpent:

It will probably be shown that the evil Jooooos were going to grind her into hamburger for fun, so he 'married' her only as a means to save her. Some kind of trick to give him the right to protect her or something. It will be explicitly shown that he thinks of her as a daughter. And she lives happily ever after.

Posted on November 3, 2009 12:25

I say, first, that Barry Os... (Below threshold)

4. Posted by Oyster | November 3, 2009 12:37 PM | Score: 3 (5 votes cast)

Oyster:

I say, first, that Barry Osborne should get a bodyguard. No matter what he does, he's going to incur the wrath of one Islamic sect or another. Second, if he wants non-Muslims to take any of this movie seriously then why use Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi to oversee production when he has openly expressed support for suicide bombings and the repression of women?

And to quote:

"There should be no dialogue with these people [Speaking of Israelis] except with swords."

"They are not suicide operations...These are heroic martyrdom operations."

That's but a couple. I invite others to read more about him.

Posted on November 3, 2009 12:37

All the comments I've read ... (Below threshold)

5. Posted by Speller | November 3, 2009 12:39 PM | Score: 3 (3 votes cast)

Speller:

All the comments I've read by Muslims deny that Muhammad had intercourse with her when he married her at the age of 6 but none deny that he did when she was 9.

They do often state that from the age of 6-9 he would put his member between her thighs only and pleasure himself that way, but who would call that having sex, eh?

Posted on November 3, 2009 12:39

"The film will educate peo... (Below threshold)

6. Posted by 914 | November 3, 2009 12:53 PM | Score: 3 (5 votes cast)

914:

"The film will educate people about the true meaning of Islam"."

Sorry Barrie, Im not interested in blowing people to bits or molesting young girls

Posted on November 3, 2009 12:53

It's about Mohammed but doe... (Below threshold)

7. Posted by Tim | November 3, 2009 1:05 PM | Score: 1 (1 votes cast)

Tim:

It's about Mohammed but doesn't show Mohammed. Great. It's like those stupid Infiniti commercials that didn't even show the damn car.

Posted on November 3, 2009 13:05

What's ironic is that it's ... (Below threshold)

8. Posted by Mac Lorry | November 3, 2009 1:07 PM | Score: 8 (8 votes cast)

Mac Lorry:

What's ironic is that it's the liberal crowd who's behind making this move to recast Islam as a peaceful and benevolent religion, yet it's the liberal crowd who's largely responsible for promoting values that run counter to the fundamental nature of Islam such as homosexuality, abortion, and the sexually promiscuous drug using society that's at the heart of Muslim hatred of the west.

The irony, of course, is incomprehensible to the liberal mindset that's now ready to abandon the truth and ignore their own hypocrisy in making a feel good movie that propagates the myth of universal peace and love among humankind.

In other words it's more liberal bullshit :-)

Posted on November 3, 2009 13:07

In accordance with Islam... (Below threshold)

9. Posted by harrison | November 3, 2009 1:14 PM | Score: 3 (3 votes cast)

harrison:

In accordance with Islamic law, the prophet will not actually be depicted on screen.

Which Islamic law?
And where is it found?
And when was it written?

People will die because of this film.

Posted on November 3, 2009 13:14

Based on their support of R... (Below threshold)

10. Posted by SCSIwuzzy | November 3, 2009 1:23 PM | Score: 2 (2 votes cast)

SCSIwuzzy:

Based on their support of Roman Polanski, I thought Hollywood was okay with old men having sex with little girls.
Islam is okay with it too.
The President's mentor Frank Marshall Davis is ok with it.
Who are we to judge?!?

Posted on November 3, 2009 13:23

I'm guessing this movie wil... (Below threshold)

11. Posted by Hank | November 3, 2009 1:26 PM | Score: 1 (1 votes cast)

Hank:

I'm guessing this movie will get 5 star reviews everywhere, no matter how bad it is.

I especially can't wait to read what Frank Rich writes.

Posted on November 3, 2009 13:26

Mac, what's also ironic is ... (Below threshold)

12. Posted by Tim | November 3, 2009 1:35 PM | Score: 4 (4 votes cast)

Mac, what's also ironic is that the people who are pushing the notion that Islam is a peaceful and benevolent religion won't actually depict Mohammed because they're afraid for their lives.

Posted on November 3, 2009 13:35

The important part of this ... (Below threshold)

13. Posted by Edward Sisson | November 3, 2009 1:38 PM | Score: 2 (2 votes cast)

Edward Sisson

The important part of this story is contained in the following quote: "[the producers have] installed the Muslim scholar Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi to oversee all aspects of the shoot."

No problem with that -- in the US religious groups pay to produce movies and do the same thing. More power to them, I say.

But the US secular world always treats these productions dismissively, with the taint of propaganda.

Will Hollywood and the MSM treat this production the same way? I think not at all. Here a prominent American film director has agreed to shoot a film under the control of a religious expert who, no doubt, is a traditionalist and proponent of the religion being portrayed. And yet, Hollywood and the MSM are going to greet this as if it were as free to criticize Islam as do so many US films criticize Christianity. That is the problem here.

Posted on November 3, 2009 13:38

And on a related note, it's... (Below threshold)

14. Posted by Tim | November 3, 2009 1:38 PM | Score: 2 (2 votes cast)

And on a related note, it's the fifth anniversary of Theo van Gogh's murder.

http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2009/11/02/crimesider/entry5498745.shtml?tag=latest

Who cares? He can make all ... (Below threshold)

15. Posted by mojo | November 3, 2009 2:09 PM | Score: 2 (2 votes cast)

mojo:

Who cares? He can make all the movies about Bedou warlords inventing stupid religions as he likes. I'm unlikely to pay to see them, however.

Posted on November 3, 2009 14:09

(I'm SO going to hell fo... (Below threshold)

16. Posted by Jay Tea | November 3, 2009 2:11 PM | Score: 1 (3 votes cast)

Jay Tea:

(I'm SO going to hell for this one...)

How old are Obama's daughters? And have either of them expressed an interest in acting?

Posted on November 3, 2009 14:11

This will be anything but r... (Below threshold)

17. Posted by WildWillie | November 3, 2009 2:11 PM | Score: 4 (4 votes cast)

WildWillie:

This will be anything but real and/or biographical. The films director seems to be going out of his way to please muslim leaders who are seldom pleased. Now Jesus Christ can be shown and a hound dog ala Willum Defoe, but we Christians wrote letters and protested. If this director shows mohammed, he would be killed and the murderer would go to heavan. Which religion is peaceful? ww

Wouldn't pay a red cent to ... (Below threshold)

18. Posted by mag | November 3, 2009 2:29 PM | Score: 1 (1 votes cast)

mag:

Wouldn't pay a red cent to go see this crap. Not interested in Mo or Islam and not interested in having some Hollywood liberal education me via a movie.

A jihad against Hollywood?????.....mmmmmmmmmm

Posted on November 3, 2009 14:29

Wouldn't pay a red cent ... (Below threshold)

19. Posted by Mike G in Corvallis | November 3, 2009 3:00 PM | Score: 2 (2 votes cast)

Mike G in Corvallis:

Many Hollywood movies, especially the blockbusters, make more money in overseas viewings and sales than in domestic viewings and sales. This is one of the reasons that movies in the past couple of decades have taken on a distinct "America can do no right" tone -- Holywood is giving its audience what it wants. That audience isn't us any more.

Posted on November 3, 2009 15:00

Not sure that was helpful, ... (Below threshold)

20. Posted by Les Nessman | November 3, 2009 3:13 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)

Les Nessman:

Not sure that was helpful, Jay. But maybe I'm misinterpreting things.

ymmv.

Posted on November 3, 2009 15:13

Maybe they should offer the... (Below threshold)

21. Posted by Matt | November 3, 2009 3:26 PM | Score: 1 (1 votes cast)

Matt:

Maybe they should offer the role of Mohammed to Roman Polanski, seems to be his style.

Do you think they will show the burning, looting, raping and pillaging throughout the middle east that Mohammed led his gang to do?